LCD Manufacturing Getting Back To Normal In China; But Demand May Not Be There

March 17, 2020 by Dave Haynes

Here is some mildly encouraging news – while North America and Europe are turning into big quarantine zones, China is coming out of that phase and technology manufacturing is getting back to normal.

Taiwan-based Digitimes reports:

Capacity utilization rates at most LCD fabs in China, excluding those in Hubei province – the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak – are recovering and are estimated to reach roughly 80% by the end of March, according to a Korea-based The Elec report.

The capacity resumption at the LTPS lines of Tianma Microelectronics is expected to reach 95% by the end of March, said the report.

While the capacity utilization at BOE Technology’s a-Si lines is likely to reach 80% by the end of March, the company may see its LTPS and OLED lines, which roll out panels mostly for Huawei, still operate at 60% by then, as Huawei has deferred its panel orders for its forthcoming P40 and also reduced flexible OLED panel orders for its mid-tier Nova lineup, the report added.

The LTPS line of China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) in Wuhan is expected to run at 40% of its capacity by end-March. 

On the flip side of this, the virus outbreak has rapidly sent the global economy into a downward spiral and, probably if not already, a recession. So we might be heading into a situation where supply is returning, but there might be limited demand.